Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "May 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-31). Also available online.

Mate-guarding is performed by many monogamous species, a method used by individuals to physically prevent competitors of the same sex from mating with their partners. This behaviour is most often displayed during the fertile period (i.e. when females can be fertilized). In this study I focused on the genetically and socially monogamous species, the Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus), in which I observed mate-guarding behaviour. The Siberian jays did change their behaviour and increased their aggression in the fertile period, a sign of mate-guarding. This result also suggests that even socially and genetically monogamous species do increase their aggression during the fertile period. This indicates that fidelity still requires an investment in mate-guarding to limit extra-pair mating opportunities. Mate-guarding should then be possible to find in species where there is at least a theoretical opportunity for extra-pair matings. / Mate-guarding är en metod använd utav många monogama arter, metoden används för att fysiskt hålla konkurrenter utav samma kön borta ifrån sin partner för att försäkra sin egen parning. Denna metod beskådas oftast under tiden honan är fertil. I denna studie fokuserade jag på den genetiska och sociala monogama arten Lavskrika(Perisoreus infaustus) där jag observerade mate-guarding beteende. Lavskrikans beteende förändrades mellan perioden då honan icke var receptiv och hon var fertil, aggressionen ökade för båda könen under den fertila perioden vilket är ett tecken utav mate-guarding beteende. Detta resultat föreslår att socialt och genetiskt monogama arter ökar sin aggression under tiden honan är fertil, det föreslår även att trofasthet fortfarande kräver hög investering utav mate-guarding för att minska riskerna utav otrohet. Mate-guarding beteende borde då finnas hos arter med en teoretisk möjlighet för otrohet.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2005. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cliff Montagne. Includes bibliographical references.

Siberia is an ideal region for exploring population histories from a molecular anthropological perspective given the diverse human populations, in terms of linguistic affiliation and lifestyle, currently inhabiting this geographically large region. As such, this thesis explores new methodologies for the investigation of the genetic histories of Siberian populations. While previous genetic work in this area of the world was able to provide detailed insights into paternal histories based on Y chromosomal data, it was not as successful on the maternal side. There existed difficulties in exploring the complex maternal demographic histories due to high levels of sequence identity between individuals in different populations when using only a very small region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), known as the hypervariable region I (HV1). This realization led to the initial focus of this dissertation which was to identify and test improved methods of sequencing entire mtDNA genomes. This was necessary because the mtDNA genomes that were published for human Siberian populations and across the globe prior to the work described here were chosen based on specific sub-sample selection criteria that introduced an ascertainment bias rendering them unusable for population-wide analyses. After testing multiple next generation DNA sequencing methods, I helped develop a sequencing library preparation method based on multiplexing and hybridization enrichment of mtDNAs for sequencing by synthesis that has since become widely used in labs across the globe. Comparing the same samples sequenced by both the traditional and new methods for five ethnolinguistic populations showed that these new methods were robust and could lead to different inferences about population histories while avoiding a sampling bias. Based on the results of this thesis it is now recommended for researchers to sequence complete mtDNA genomes for all relevant samples within a collection. By applying these methods to additional Siberian populations it was possible to better describe maternal population contact and identify demographic changes over time. This additional information allowed for the identification of putative drops in the maternal effective population sizes in the Siberian populations examined here. When examining the potential migrations and population contact between Turkic-speaking Yakuts and the Tungusic-speaking Even and Evenks, there exists a differential sharing of haplotypes suggesting that the Tungusic speaking populations herein were already in the northern region and split prior to the expansion of the Yakuts into their territory. The putative origin of the Yakuts as being around Lake Baikal was given additional support from the analyses included in this study and the origins of the Dolgans were shown to predominately include the admixture of Yakuts and Evenks.

Siberian weasel, Mustela sibirica is a widespread carnivora mammal in Eurasia. In Taiwan, it inhabits a variety of environments restricted to altitude above 800 m. Based on mitochondrial control region sequences, I constructed phylogeography and analyzed population interflow about the species in Taiwan. The mean length of D-loop in Siberian weasel is 1038.9 bp. The D-loop structure can be divided into ETAS, CD and CSB domain. Among these, CD is the most conserved region while the two flank domains are variable. There are tandem repeat sequences in CSB domain, common in other carnivores. In phylogenetic analyses, three major lineages were found in phylogenetic trees and MSN topology. In general, haplotypes in clades are correlated to geographic distribution. The haplotypes of clade I were sampled from southern Taiwan, while the majority of those clade II and clade III were from northern Taiwan. The gene flow among clades were low. However no significant geographic boundaries existed between clades. It is speculated that the genetic isolation among clades may have been resulted from bottleneck effect, like other high altitude mammals in Taiwan, and not from geographic barriers mainly.

Populations of Lesser Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis canadensis) have been increasing during the last decades in Eastern Siberia, an area historically known as breeding grounds of endangered Siberian Cranes (G. leucogeranus). Significant overlap in niche dimensions between the two species may occur and could lead to competition between them. Therefore, this study of comparative breeding ecology of common Lesser Sandhill Cranes and endangered Siberian Cranes was performed. From late May to early August 2000, I studied Lesser Sandhill and Siberian cranes within a 30,000-ha part of Kytalyk Resource Reserve in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia. My main objective was to compare dispersion patterns and resource use of breeding Lesser Sandhill and Siberian cranes in areas of distribution overlap. Lesser Sandhill Cranes used moderate-wet (polygon) areas as their nest sites and main foraging areas, where terrestrial foods were scattered. In contrast, Siberian Cranes were nesting and foraging on low-basin wet areas, where aquatic foods were concentrated and dominant. Inter-nest distances were less for heterospecific cranes than for conspecific cranes, and more territorial behavior was projected toward conspecifics than toward heterospecifics. Lesser Sandhill Cranes were more mobile and used moderate-wet (polygon) areas more than Siberian Cranes; however, both species spent similar time foraging and being alert. The two crane species used different vegetation types for nesting and foraging, had different time-activity budgets, and used different resources in the Siberian tundra. While the population of Lesser Sandhill Cranes in the study area has the potential to increase, both species may simultaneously share the same geographic area due to differences in ecological requirements.

As the Russian government enacted the Great Reforms of the 1850s and 1860s, Siberian students in St. Petersburg at the time came to the realization that urban, judicial, and land reforms had to take place in Siberia in order for the region to develop. Starting with meetings of the Siberian Circle in the capital, regionalists strove to elevate Siberia’s socio-political position within the Russian Empire. Regionalists believed that the Russian government envisioned Siberia exclusively as a place of exile and hard labor, as a territory for natural resources, and as a region unworthy of any real development. The chief theorists of regionalism, Grigorii Nikolaevich Potanin and Nikolai Mikhailovich Iadrintsev, sought to reconceptualize the relationship between European Russia and Siberia while publicizing regional needs. For regionalists, ending the system of Siberian exile, fostering the development of education, and pushing Siberia’s political and economic development would make Siberia a vital and vibrant region of the empire and end Siberia’s traditionally subservient status. Forces constantly pushed regionalism, as regionalists found their movement shaped, in turn, by the Russian state, Siberian realities, revolutionary forces, and civil war. Regionalists struggled to come to terms with their desire to see Siberia included in the Russian Empire in meaningful ways even as the government treated the region as an economic, political, and cultural afterthought. While regionalists endeavored to construct viable alternatives for regional development, evolving reality did as much, if not more, to shape regionalism, pushing its adherents in new and surprising directions, sometimes against their will.

Empirical measurements of the use of space of an enclosure are important indicators of the enclosure’s appropriateness for the exhibited animal. By studying the animal’s use of space zoological parks are able to provide a more species-adequate environment. In this study the utilization of space by the Siberian tigers held at Kolmården Djurpark was analyzed. Data were collected using the scan sample method for a total of 120 observation hours during 15 days. The tigers showed a marked difference in the utilization of different parts of the enclosure with the number of observations ranging from 1252 for the most popular zone to only 172 for the least popular one. The tigers showed a consistent preference for two of the 15 zones across all days of observation. Further analyses showed that these zones were preferred both during mornings and afternoons as well as during feeding days and non-feeding days. This study demonstrates that the tigers might display a preference for certain environmental features as a result of their behavioral needs that are no different from tigers in the wild.

ABSTRACT The epidemiological study of intestinal helminths and ticks of Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica) was conducted from June 2001 to May 2002 in Shan-Ping, southern Taiwan. Nine helminths were found, including seven nematodes, Filaroides sp. (prevalence 94.4%), Ancylostoma sp. (77.4%), Uncinaria sp. (35.5%), Trichuris sp. 1 (35.5%), Trichuris sp. 2 (19.3%), Capillaria sp. (6.5%) and Physaloptera sp. (3.2%); one trematode, Platynosomum sp. (74.1%) and one acanthocephalans, Macracanthorhynchus sp. (10%). There was a significant seasonal difference of intensity of the Platynosomum sp. Two species of ticks were observed, Ixodes ovatus (prevalence 55.56%) and Haemaphysalis sp. Seasonal differences were significant in the prevalence and intensity of the Ixodes ovatus infection. The intensities of ticks and helminths in different sampling area were similar. The diet composition was possibly the factor affecting the seasonal change of intensity of the Platynosomum sp. and host availability affecting the seasonal change of ticks, Ixodes ovatus.